Will Drone Usage Hurt Amazon?

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)’s plans to carry out same-day delivery by the use of drones, continues to garner considerable resentment in Cambridge, U.K. The plans have already been termed ‘barking mad’ as safety concerns over unmanned aircrafts continue to mount.

A number of people remain skeptical about Amazon flying unmanned aircrafts above the city when dropping off goods to homes. The drones are expected to be targets for people who possess air guns. Amazon is aggressively pushing for drone usage in order to deliver goods in the U.K, as it already increased its research and development team in the area.

Terry Holloway, a managing director at the Cambridge Aero Club, believes that under the current legislation, it is unfeasible for Amazon to carry on with using drones. Safety concerns continue to mount with regards to unmanned drones flying above the city. The company is additionally in the midst of a dispute with the Civil Aviation Authority, which maintains that the giant retail store is a long way from conducting live deliveries.

Amazon has been bolstering its teams at development centers in Cambridge and Seattle for quite some time, as it gets set to roll out Prime Air, a name for its drone program. The retail store has also advertised job positions, including flight operations engineer. The job will see prospective candidates take part in test plans, plan test evolution as well as execute flights, while working closely with Amazon’s flight engineering department along with other test flight teams in Seattle.

The company is now looking to add more talent for its Prime Air department as competition for same-day delivery continues to reach fever-pitch thanks to Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL). Amazon will have to seek permission from CAA before carrying out tests for its unmanned drones in the U.K. Legislation in the country requires drones to fly at least 50 meters away from a person, vehicle or any structure.

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